Scottish Ballet takes a leap forward with lottery funding by PHIL MILLER for the Scotland Herald

The "stage one" grant of £75,000 marks the first official funding green light for the multi-million-pound project. It will lead to a former industrial site – and current centre for modern art exhibitions – being turned into a dance centre, while retaining its status as a valuable space for the the visual arts.

Scottish Ballet is delighted to announce that an application to the Scottish Arts Council Lottery Fund to help the Company develop plans for a state-of-the-art-dance centre as part of the Tramway complex has been successful. Working with Glasgow City Council, this project will place Scottish Ballet at the heart of a dynamic international performing and visual arts centre, thereby creating a production and presentation facility of a scale and artistic mix unrivalled in the UK. The move to Tramway will enable Scottish Ballet to forge stronger connections to the international arts scene and help to put Scottish dance on the world map.

Iain Munro Head of Capital at the Scottish Arts Council, said:

'When we decided to consolidate our funding for the next three years into one funding round, we wanted to support exciting and ambitious projects that will contribute to the development of Scottish artistic and public life for many years to come. Providing development funding for this project will now allow Scottish Ballet to examine its proposals in more detail, looking at things such as business plans and sustainability as well as its architectural ambitions to develop facilities that will help excite, inspire and transform the lives of both the professional dance community as well as audiences across Scotland.'

Tramway is a unique building in the arts world, owned and managed by Glasgow City Council. Brought back to life for Glasgow’s influential European Year of Culture in 1990, Tramway has gained an international reputation through its association with such artists and companies as Peter Brook, Robert Lepage, La Fura dels Baus, Compagnie C de la B and many others.

The project has developed significantly since initial plans were explored in 2003 and Scottish Ballet now has a scheme that will positively enhance Tramway's role as a centre of excellence without compromising the existing arts spaces. This plan will transform unused spaces at Tramway into studio, workshop, education and office spaces for Scottish Ballet and create the largest centre for dance in Scotland including much needed rehearsal spaces for independent professional dance artists and companies. This project will also benefit the local community with access and outreach programmes forming an integral part of Scottish Ballet’s move to Tramway.

A spokesperson for Glasgow City Council said, “Glasgow City Council is delighted that Scottish Ballet's proposal to develop currently unused spaces within Tramway has received the support of The Scottish Arts Council. Tramway's reputation as one of Europe's leading venues for the performing and visual arts will be enhanced by the presence of Scotland's national dance company. Scottish Ballet will also provide a stimulus to the extensive education and lifelong learning programmes undertaken in the building.”

Scottish Ballet bought and moved into its current premises in 1979, in the company’s tenth year in Glasgow. The building is a converted Territorial Army building that includes a large, double-fronted tenement house and two large ‘sheds’ which formerly housed TA equipment. This was a brave and imaginative move at a time when other dance companies were housed in often poorly kept rented premises. Today the building has many problems. It has major space problems for a company of Scottish Ballet’s size and significantly has insufficient studio space to house all the company’s activity, including the community and education programme that has grown significantly the years.

In addition to Scottish Arts Council funding, Scottish Ballet and its partner Glasgow City Council will be raising the remaining funds with a number of sponsorship initiatives, through public and private investors and funders.

Christopher Barron, Scottish Ballet’s Chief Executive declared, “This is a great day for Scottish Ballet. We have been looking for a new home for some time and Tramway is the ideal location for the Company.”

I have my fingers crossed that this development plan takes off. It looks as though Scottish Ballet has found a way to use the Tramway as a joint Fine Arts/Ballet Centre, which sounds interesting as well as pragmatic. The initial opposition from the Fine Arts community to Scottish Ballet's plans was loud and clear.

Finger crossed that all goes well in the crucial phases to come. To put in perspective, SB has received £75,000 to continue the development work, but the new building will cost £4m.

A dance to the music of light by DOMINIC BRADBURY for the Daily Telegraphpublished: January 1, 2007

For Fraser, getting involved with cultural schemes such as the Scottish Poetry Library and Scottish Storytelling Centre at grass-roots level, helping them through fund-raising and site-searching as well as planning, led to exemplary buildings at the heart of Edinburgh. His work has been characterised by sensitive modernity, a real awareness of context, a passion for detail and a sense of warmth.

Now Fraser's growing reputation for arts projects has brought him a major commission in Glasgow, designing a new home for Scottish Ballet.

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